With the start of a fixture-laden December just a day away, we turn our attention to the most sought-after and most-discarded players within PlayTheGame. A couple months ago this listing was called game intelligence but some of the selections below suggest that a new name is more appropriate.
Top 10 Added Players (and some thoughts)
1. Carew, John - AST (nothing like a mid-week goal to lift a forward's stock)
2. Wright-Phillips, Shaun - CHE (nevermind England, last week the winger scored his first club goal since April and that seems to have gotten everyone excited)
3. Kalou, Salomon - CHE (the Ivory Coast international has made a significant impact this season and is well worth picking up. Sadly he is long gone in our leagues)
4. Mellberg, Olof - AST (a string of assured performances and Martin O'Neill's endorsement go a long way)
5. Hyypia, Sami - LIV (he's old and frail and difficult to justify appearing in this list)
6. Ballack, Michael - CHE (after an absence of several months, the Germany international is trading on name recognition - though his imminent return explains the sudden rise in interest)
7. Ferreira, Paulo - CHE (it has been a month since the Portuguese defender injured his ankle suggesting that he is within a week or two of returning)
8. Carson, Scott - AST (presumably Carson was on the most-dropped list last week and his appearance here is nothing more than a return to normal)
9. Walcott, Theo - ARS (the forward has been improving steadily (though slowly) since the start of the season but his playing time can only suffer when Robin van Persie returns)
10. Campbell, Sol - POR (doubtless there is still life in those ageing legs...)
Top 10 Dropped Players (and some more thoughts)
1. Essien, Michael - CHE (there is no explaining this one so the only sane advice is to suggest picking him up if you're lucky enough to be playing in a league with one of the managers dropping him)
2. Pedersen, Morten Gamst - BLA (the Norwegian ranked as the 32nd most valuable player in the league has started slowly though we think it may be too early to cut our losses now)
3. Neville, Gary - MAN (patience is running out for the 32-year-old defender whose comeback from injury is now in its ninth month)
4. Neill, Lucas - WHM (a sub-1 AGA ratio does not grow on trees - though apparently it is available on many out-of-contract lists)
5. Howard, Tim - EVE (hard to explain letting him go for nothing)
6. Diouf, El-Hadji - BOL (the lack of goals, low Average Goals For and Points category totals are obvious explanations though the Megson appointment may turn things around - then again maybe not)
7. Jaaskelainen, Jussi - BOL (presumably these managers saw that Howard was available)
8. Samba, Christopher - BLA (solid totals across the board suggest that the Congo international is another valuable player available in too many leagues)
9. Given, Shay - NEW (all things Newcastle are of dubious quality at this stage, particularly on the defensive side of the ball)
10. Kerimoglu, Tugay - BLA (he's 37 and more often than not watching rather than playing - we'd drop him too)
Comments (1)
Hyypia "he's old and frail and difficult to justify appearing in this list"
Really? 8 clean sheets (in 11 games), a goal, an assist, and a miserly 0.39 AGA. I'm pretty pleased with him!
Posted by Moray Baylis | December 3, 2007 11:14 AM
Posted on December 3, 2007 11:14